Solo
by corneroffandom
Summary: Just before their Raw debut, Enzo begins to second guess himself.


The night after Mania. The entire arena's buzzing, crowd's loud with the chants and general hullabaloo. Enzo shifts around, his feet moving so fast that they're almost a blur as he tries to work out some energy. They'd still been struggling to figure out their next move after losing against The Revival when they'd been brought into the Big Office and told they were being moved up to Raw. It had been emotional, more so for Enzo, who was still feeling low after the loss.

Now, they're here, watching. Waiting. For something to happen, a signal. A cue to go to the ring, someone needing put in their place, running their mouth just a little too long... Shane McMahon wanders by, a small smile on his face as he nods and greets a few of the various competitors going this way and that, all swept up in the tide of post-Wrestlemania energy themselves. Enzo takes a brief moment to check out Shane's sneaker game before facing forward once more, unsure how to accept all of this, it's all so different from NXT. He doesn't know if it's this general sense of confusion or the lost look on his face but something stops Shane and he turns towards them. "Hey, guys. Just got here from NXT, huh?"

Cass nods, Enzo tries to find the words, but for once, none are forthcoming. "Yeah, we are," Cass fills the blank space. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. McMahon."

"Ah, God, call me Shane, please. Mr. McMahon's always gonna be my father and no one else." He chuckles, shakes Cass' hand, then Enzo wakes up enough to hold his hand out as well and Shane smiles at him, shaking it warmly. "Heard some good things about you guys from my brother in law. I know things are kinda crazy, they really threw you in the deep end here but... yeah. Have some fun with it all, and when you've found your opportunity, grab it, guys. Post-Mania Raws are the best, this crowd's gonna eat you up."

 _And spit me back out, maybe,_ Enzo thinks nervously, turning wide eyes back to the monitor. They're still waiting and watching when the Dudleys come out, start running their mouths about utter nonsense. Enzo thinks this is their chance and as he edges towards gorilla, Cass follows him but something eats at him anyway, leaves him rethinking. "Hey, Cass... d'ya think... maybe..." It's not like him. He never second guesses himself like this, but it's Raw. It's the big leagues and dammit, Cass deserves more than this. More than him and his bumbling ways. _Good talker, kinda iffy in the ring... the big guy's decent though, could go far-_

"Maybe what, Zo?" Cass asks, leaning towards him to hear him better over the general cacophony that only gets louder the closer they get to the curtain. "Ya alright?"

"Maybe you should... find a different opportunity," Enzo mumbles, face heating up.

How Cass hears him over the crowd, over the Dudleys, over everything, Enzo isn't sure, but they've always had a special wavelength, even as kids, and so Cass hears, and Cass' brows furrow like he's trying to make sense out of an extremely hard puzzle. "What?"

"Your own opportunity. Without me, where ya can... go out and shine, all on your own." He's babbling, he thinks, running his hands through his hair gingerly. "That sounds good right? Don't worry about me, I'll find somethin', just you go and-"

Cass crosses his arms over his chest and stares at Enzo, from the top of his head to the bottom of his shoes and back up in that deep, dark way that makes Enzo feel like he's being x-rayed so Cass can suss out all of his ridiculous secrets. "Win or lose," he says, his voice deep with a harsh determination to make Enzo understand, "we're partners. I don't care if we lost to The Revival, to Alpha, to Ascension, and everyone else in the damn locker room back at NXT, I don't care if we lose to 'em all here. You're my partner, and I'm not bailing on you now that we've both finally made it to Raw. So you're gonna walk out with me, and we're going to shut the Dudleys up for good, or I'm gonna have to pick you up and _carry_ you out there cause I don't want any opportunity that don't include you in my corner." Cass quiets for a moment, boring into Enzo with a gaze that makes him feel ten kinds of vulnerable and dizzy, before speaking again, a snap to his voice that hints at absolutely no misunderstanding to be had. "Capiche?"

"Yeah, yeah," Enzo mumbles, hot to the tips of his ears as he fumbles with the microphone he'd found earlier in the night. "I most definitely Capiche." So he turns back to the curtain and he motions to the production guy. As their music hits, he runs out, hyper and eager to see how the crowd takes _this._

His eyes gleam as he takes in the general response- the Dudley's confused disgust, the crowd's excitement at seeing them. For the first time since he'd left Toronto, things snap into place for him, Cass' warmth encouraging him on further. "My name is Enzo Amore and I am a certified G and a bonafide stud..."


End file.
